Student groups receive greater cultural event funding from referendum
By Nicholas Yu
May 15, 2015 3:09 a.m.
Dozens of student groups were able to organize better cultural events this school year under a referendum that allowed the Cultural Affairs Commission, an office in the undergraduate student government, to allocate about $100,000 to fund events.
UCLA students approved the Arts Restoring Community referendum last year, adding a $1.55 quarterly fee to fund cultural and arts-related programs.
The Undergraduate Students Association Council commission has already allocated about $97,000 of the $100,000 it was given, according to a commission report. The remaining funds that have not yet been allocated will go toward surplus funding for the 2015-2016 council.
In the past, the Cultural Affairs Commission only had $15,000 to finance cultural events under its mini-fund. Student groups often requested a combined $50,000 in a year and, according to a document published by the Cultural Affairs Commission, it would not be able to fulfill all the requests.
Although almost $100,000 was distributed to 61 student groups, the funds were not equally distributed each funding period and allocations weren’t made in fall quarter.
The commission had to create a committee to grade applications weekly and change the bylaws before the commission could allocate funds, Cultural Affairs Commissioner Amy Shao said. Also, during winter quarter, many student groups weren’t aware of the new funds the Cultural Affairs Commission could offer, Shao added.
Under the referendum, student groups can apply for funds two times each quarter for a total of six times in an academic year. Student groups can receive a maximum of $1,000 per quarter.
However, students groups who are members of the Collective, a membership organization created by the commission, can receive a maximum of $2,000 per quarter. Members of The Collective have to participate in events hosted by the Cultural Affairs Commission, among other requirements.
“We received much more money than what we had on our mind,” said Ana Davalos-Sanchez, a fourth-year Chicana/o studies student and chairwoman of MEChA de UCLA.
At its 22nd annual Raza Youth Conference, MEChA de UCLA was able bring in 1,200 attendees with the $700 it received from the commission. In the past, the most MEChA de UCLA could afford was around 400 attendees, Davalos-Sanchez said.
“Our organization didn’t receive as much as we applied for, but we received the most we ever have from CAC,” Davalos-Sanchez said.
The UCLA Association of Chinese Americans is part of the Collective and applied for $3,000 in spring quarter to fund its annual culture night.
The group was able to rent Royce Hall for its cultural night with the $2,600 it received from the commission, said Brandon Shih, treasurer of the Association of Chinese Americans and a third-year chemical engineering student.
The Association of Chinese Americans applied to multiple funding sources and the Arts Restoring Community referendum funding proved to be one of the most responsive and helpful sources, he said.
Before the last allocation period of the academic year, the second half of spring quarter, the Cultural Affairs Commission still had about $55,000 to give out to student groups.
The Cultural Affairs Commission was able to use most of those funds by reaching out to student organizations and increasing its advertising, since many culture nights occur in spring quarter, Shao said.
All student groups must provide receipts for their purchases and must list all the other funding sources the group has applied to.
In the next two weeks, the Cultural Affairs Commission will contact student groups that have not used up all the funds they received, Shao said. Those who have remaining funds can file another application to fund another project even though the deadline has passed, she added.
